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Concept
Attack on Fatima's house
Summary
The attack on Fatima's house refers to a disputed violent attack on the house of Fatima, daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The attack is said to have taken place shortly after the death of Muhammad in 11 AH (632 CE) and was instigated by his successor Abu Bakr and led by Umar, another companion. The purpose of the attack was to arrest Fatima's husband Ali, who had withheld his pledge of allegiance to Abu Bakr. Her injuries during the raid might have caused the young Fatima's miscarriage and death within six months of Muhammad.
The above claims are brought forward by the Shia and categorically rejected by the Sunni, the two largest branches of Islam. On the one hand, Shia historians list some early Sunni sources that corroborate these allegations, arguing that sensitive information about the incident has also been censored by Sunni scholars who were concerned with the righteous presentation of companions. On the other hand, it is unimaginable for Sunnis that the companions would engage in violence against Muhammad's family. In turn, Sunni Islam holds that Fatima died from grief after the death of Muhammad and that her child died in infancy of natural causes. Following her will, Abu Bakr was excluded from the private funeral of Fatima, and she was buried secretly at night. Fatima has been compared to Mary, the mother of Jesus, especially in Shia Islam. In view of Fatima's place in Islam, these allegations are highly controversial, with beliefs primarily split along sectarian lines between Sunni and Shia denominations.
Succession to Muhammad and Saqifa
In the immediate aftermath of Muhammad's death in 11/632, the Ansar (Medinan Muslims) gathered at the Saqifa (courtyard) of the Banu Sa'ida clan. The conventional wisdom is that they met to decide on a new leader for the Muslim community among themselves. For Madelung, however, the absence of the Muhajirun (Meccan Muslims) from this meeting suggests that the Ansar gathered to re-establish their control over their city Medina, under the belief that the Muhajirun would mostly return to Mecca after Muhammad's death.
Official source
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